Dichobunidae

Dichobunidae is an extinct family of basal artiodactyl mammals from the early Eocene to late Oligocene of North America, Europe, and Asia. The Dichobunidae include some of the earliest known artiodactyls, such as Diacodexis.

Dichobunidae Temporal range: Early Eocene–Late Oligocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Aumelasia sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	†Dichobunidae Turner, 1849
Genera
see text

Description

They were small animals, averaging about the size of a modern rabbit, and had many primitive features. In life, they would have resembled a long-tailed muntjac or chevrotain. Dichobunids had four or five toes on each foot, with each toe ending in a small hoof. They had complete sets of teeth, unlike most later artiodactyls, with their more specialist dentitions.^[1] The shape of the teeth suggests they were browsers, feeding on small leaves, perhaps in the forest undergrowth. The shape of their bodies and limbs suggests they would have been fast-running animals, unlike most of their contemporaries.^[2]

Taxonomy

Classification of dichobunids following McKenna and Bell:^[3]

• † Family Dichobunidae
  • Paraphenacodus
  • Dulcidon
  • Chorlakkia
  • Pakibune
  • Pakkokuhyus^[4]
  • Progenitohyus^[4]
  • Subfamily Dichobuninae
    • Tribe Hyperdichobunini
      • Mouillacitherium
      • Hyperdichobune
    • Tribe Dichobunini
      • Aumelasia
      • Meniscodon
      • Messelobunodon
      • Dichobune
      • Buxobune
      • Neufferia
      • Metriotherium
      • Synaphodus
  • Subfamily Eurodexeinae
    • Eurodexis
    • Eygalayodon
    • Lutzia
    • Parahexacodus
  • Subfamily Diacodexeinae
    • Diacodexis
    • Bunophorus
    • Protodichobune
    • Tapochoerus
    • Neodiacodexis